Device and method for providing services to a user of a TV set

ABSTRACT

A communication device is provided for enabling a TV viewer to transmit signals towards a service provider. The communication device comprises: a user interface adapted to receive input signal from the TV viewer; a transceiver adapted to communicate wirelessly with a service provider via a remote server; and a TV interface adapted to allow forwarding of signals received from a TV source and of signals received from a service provider, towards a TV device of the TV viewer. Preferably the signals received from both sources are displayed simultaneously within different viewing windows at the screen of the TV device.

CROSS-REFERENCE TO RELATED APPLICATIONS

This is an US National Phase Patent Application Under 35 USC § 371 ofInternational Patent Application No. PCT/IL2010/000319 filed on Apr. 22,2010, incorporated herein by reference, which claims priority of IsraeliPatent Application No. 198607 filed on May 6, 2009, incorporated hereinby reference.

FIELD OF THE INVENTION

The present invention relates to communications and more particularly tomethod, apparatus and system for providing services to a televisionviewer.

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION

When considering the percentage of the population that consumed Internetbased services in various countries in early 2005, the differencebetween industrial countries and developing countries is clearlydemonstrated. The penetration in the USA was 48%, in Canada andAustralia 46%, in Sweden 53%, in Germany 36%, in the UK 38%, in France26%, in Spain 22%, whereas in Brazil 6%, in South Africa 1.5% and inEthiopia, Ghana, Egypt and many other counties in Africa the percentageof the population consuming Internet based services is less than 1%(source: globalEDGE—http://globaledge.msu.edu). Although dataconnectivity in rural communities has been found to be a factor thatincreases social and economical benefits of the people living in thesecommunities, developing countries still face many barriers in providingInternet connectivity to the masses. For example, the lack of wire-lineinfrastructure in rural areas makes it difficult to deploy servicestraditionally provisioned via wire line broadband, and of course manyhouseholds do not have computers.

The concept of receiving Internet web-content at the television set isrelatively new but still known in the art as can be seen for example inWO 2008142472 which presents a converged communication system having theTV set as the main networked device for integrated content search,delivery and consumption. Online content is delivered from the Internetto TV, by way that 10 traditional TV broadcasts are conveyed togetherwith multimedia and non multimedia data retrieved from online resources,are seamlessly integrated in one delivery channel and conveyed alongthat channel to TV viewers.

Even though that there are some references in the art for combiningInternet with television broadcasts, they do not solve the problem wherethere is no infrastructure available for providing the subscriber with areturn (upstream) channel through which he/she may forwardcommunications towards a non-cable TV service provider, and particularlythey are not aimed to provide the user of a TV apparatus with the optionto use that apparatus for simultaneously watching TV broadcasts whilebeing interactively connected to various Internet applications.

In addition, one of the drawbacks which providers of TV broadcasts viasatellite are facing, is, their lack of ability to properly communicatewith their subscribers in the upstream direction. Typically, when asubscriber wishes to enquire about a certain problem being experienced(e.g. reception quality), he/she will call by telephone a service centerof the satellite service provider and will explain the problem to arepresentative at the service center, a process which consumessubstantial human resources while still being limited in options thatcan be offered to the subscriber.

The present invention therefore seeks to provide a solution to overcomethe above-mentioned problems.

SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION

It is an object of the present invention to provide method and apparatusfor providing a TV viewer with PC services.

It is another object of the present invention to provide a method andapparatus for enabling a TV viewer to retrieve requested information,even without having his/her premises connected to a wired/cableinfrastructure.

It is another object of the present invention to provide a method andapparatus for combining television broadcasted signals with signalscarrying information that was requested by the TV viewer, into anintegrated signal and displaying the integrated signal at the viewer'sTV set (e.g. in the form of a display within a larger display, or twodisplays located side by side, etc.).

It is another object of the present invention to provide a method andapparatus for allowing easy shift between displaying televisionbroadcasted signals and displaying signals carrying information that wasrequested by the TV viewer.

It is still another object of the present invention to provide a methodand apparatus that provide a viewer of satellite TV broadcasting withmeans to communicate with the satellite TV service provider, other thancalling the satellite TV service provider's call center.

It is another object of the present invention to provide a method andapparatus for providing updated PC services to a TV viewer withoutrequiring that the user would purchase a computer, maintain it andupgrade it every couple of years or so.

It is another object of the present invention to provide a method andapparatus for enabling a TV service provider to unicast messages/videostreams to a TV viewer.

According to a first embodiment of the present invention, there isprovided a communication device (e.g. a communication box) adapted toenable a TV viewer to transmit signals, wherein the communication device15 comprising:

-   -   (a) a user interface adapted to receive input signal from the TV        viewer;    -   (b) a transceiver adapted to communicate wirelessly with a        service provider via a remote server; and    -   (c) a TV interface adapted to allow forwarding of signals        received from a TV source and of signals received from a service        provider, to a TV device of the TV viewer.

In accordance with another embodiment of the invention, thecommunication device further comprises an electronic mixer adapted tocombine signals received from the Internet service provider via thetransceiver with TV signals broadcasted from a TV source, and whereinthe TV interface is further adapted to allow forwarding the combinedsignals. By this embodiment, the TV interface is adapted to forwardingof signals received either from a TV source or from a service provideror a combination thereof, to the TV device.

In other words, the present invention enables the viewer to watch TVbroadcasts on his/her TV screen, or to practically turn this TV set(through the use of the present invention communication device) to acomputer terminal, e.g. for surfing the Internet. Optionally, byintegrating the signals arriving from the two different sources asexplained hereinabove, the invention also enables to display anintegrated signal at the screen of the user's TV set, where theintegrated signal being displayed, comprises a window for displaying thesignal being broadcasted from a TV source by the service provider of theTV broadcasts, and a window for displaying data received throughcommunications exchanged with the service provider of the Internetservice, irrespective of the size of each of these two display windows.As will be appreciated, the two different service providersmentioned-above, may in fact be one service provider that provides bothTV broadcasts and Internet content, but preferably, the two serviceswill be provided in such a case along two different paths, morepreferably, along two different paths, each comprising one or morelinks, and wherein at least one of the links comprised in one of thesetwo paths is physically different from any link comprised in the otherof the two paths.

According to another embodiment of the present invention, thetransceiver is further adapted to transmit a request inputted by the TVviewer towards the remote server to enable the TV viewer to receiveinformation from the remote server (whether the information is stored atthat remote server or whether it would be retrieved from elsewhere).

According to a still another embodiment of the invention, thetransceiver comprises a wireless (e.g. cellular) module that is adaptedfor use as a relaying means for the communication device describedherein.

In accordance with another embodiment of the invention, the requestcomprises an indication for connecting the TV viewer to anInternet-based application residing at a second server.

By still another embodiment of the invention, the user interface isfurther adapted to receive signals conveyed by a user device (e.g. aniPod), and wherein the electronic mixer is further adapted to combinethe signals received from the user device with TV signals broadcastedfrom a TV source.

According to another embodiment, the transceiver is further adapted totransmit signals received from the user device towards said remoteserver.

According to yet another embodiment of the present invention, thecommunication device further adapted to be connected to at least onecomputer accessory (e.g. online camera, microphone etc.) to enableproviding an enhanced surfing experience to the TV viewer.

In accordance with yet another embodiment of the invention, thecommunication device further comprises storage means. Preferably, theelectronic mixer is further adapted to combine signals retrieved fromthe storage means with TV signals broadcasted from a TV source.Optionally, or in the alternative, the communication device is furtheradapted to enable displaying signals retrieved from the storage meansalong with TV signals broadcasted from a TV source (e.g. so that the TVscreen comprises the two displaying windows).

By still another embodiment of the invention, the communication devicefurther comprises a processor adapted to determine if a quality of theTV signals being broadcasted from a TV source is less than a pre-definedthreshold, and if in the affirmative, initiating conveyance ofreplacement signals for these low quality TV signals towards thecommunication device via the remote server. The replacement signals maybe the same broadcast that is being poorly received over the air, or inthe alternative, could comprise different signals all together, whetherthese different signals are selected by the TV viewer, or not.

Although the communication device may be a stand-alone device operatingparallel to the set-top box, still, according to another embodiment ofthe invention, the communication device is adapted to be contained in aset-top box of a TV service provider. In other words, when the set-topbox is provided to the TV viewer (e.g. by the TV service provider) italready includes all or some of the functionalities described above forthe communication device.

According to another aspect of the invention, there is provided a methodfor providing a viewer of a TV device a capability to display data atthe TV device, which method comprises the steps of:

-   -   at a first server, receiving from a communication device        associated with the TV device an indication denoting a request        for data, wherein the communication device is operative to        communicate wirelessly with the first server;    -   establishing a communication path between the communication        device and a source for the provisioning of the requested data        via the first server;    -   forwarding requested data towards the communication device, and    -   displaying at the TV device, signals received from a TV source        and signals comprising the requested data.

According to another embodiment of the invention, the communicationdevice is operative to enable simultaneous display of the requested dataand the TV broadcasts at the screen of the TV set, e.g. in the form oftwo separated windows, a picture within a picture or any other way thatis known in the art per se.

In accordance with another embodiment of the invention, the requesteddata being forwarded in a form that would allow its integration with TVbroadcasts that are being received at the communication device, in orderto enable displaying the integrated signal which comprises the requestedinformation and the broadcasted signal, at the TV device, and whereinwhen the integrated signal is displayed at the TV device, neither of thesignals received from a TV source nor signals comprising the requestedinformation, are displayed at the TV device.

According to another embodiment of this aspect of the invention, themethod provided further comprising a step whereby the first serverretrieves information which relates to the capabilities of thecommunication device, to enable forwarding information to thecommunication device in a format that is compatible with thecapabilities of the communication device, and in a format that wouldallow integrating the information carrying signals with the TVbroadcasted signals for displaying the integrated signals at the TVdevice.

According to an embodiment of the invention, the requested informationis provided as an answer to an inquiry generated by the viewer of the TVdevice and is forwarded to the TV broadcasting provider via thecommunication device and along a path which is at least partiallyphysically different from the path along which the TV broadcasts arereceived at the communication device. For example, if the TV broadcastedsignals are conveyed via satellite, the communications exchanged betweenthe TV viewer and the satellite service provider can be carried out atleast partially along a link of a cellular network.

By still another embodiment, the requested information is a member ofthe group consisting of: an Internet application, office software,community services, stored personal information, any combinationthereof, and the like.

In accordance with yet another embodiment, the method provided furthercomprising a step of receiving an indication about the quality of TVbroadcasted signals being received at the communication device fordisplay at the TV device, and in case that the quality of the TVbroadcasted signals is less than a pre-defined threshold, forwardingreplacement signals towards the communication device. Preferably, thereplacement signals are essentially a copy of the TV broadcasted signalshaving a better signal quality.

By yet another embodiment, the method provided further comprises a stepof creating a virtual client entity at the first server, wherein thevirtual client entity represents the TV viewer and is operative to allowretrieval of the requested data, and wherein the communication path isestablished between the communication device and a source for theprovisioning of the requested data via the virtual client entityresiding at the first server.

According to another aspect of the invention there is provided acomputer program product encoding a computer program stored on anon-transitory computer readable storage medium for executing a set ofinstructions by a computer system comprising one or more computerprocessors for carrying out a process for receiving an indication from acommunication device associated with a TV device, wherein thatindication indicates a request of the TV viewer to be provided withrequested information, establishing a communication path between thecommunication device and a source for the requested information via thefirst server, and forwarding requested information towards thecommunication device. Preferably, the requested information is forwardedin a form that would allow its integration with TV broadcasts that arebeing received at the communication device, in order to enabledisplaying an integrated signal which comprises the requestedinformation and the broadcasted signal, at the TV device, either as onecombined signal or in two separated windows simultaneously beingdisplayed at the TV screen.

By still another embodiment of this aspect of the invention, the processfurther comprises a step of creating a virtual client entity, whereinthe virtual client entity is associated with the communication deviceand is operative to enable retrieval of the requested information.

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS

FIG. 1—presents a schematic view of the system of the present invention

FIG. 2—presents an example of an integrated transmission displayed atthe TV set.

FIG. 3—presents a flow chart of an embodiment of the present invention;and

FIG. 4—illustrates a flow chart of another embodiment for carrying outthe present invention.

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION

For a more complete understanding of the present invention, reference ismade to the following detailed description taken in conjunction with theaccompanying drawings.

Let us first consider FIG. 1, which presents a schematic view of system100 constructed in accordance with an embodiment of the presentinvention.

The TV set 140 is the device which the subscriber typically uses forreceiving TV broadcasts, whether such broadcasts are made via satellite,over the air or even via cables. A communication device 120 is connectedto the TV set, typically (but not necessarily) by using a wiredconnection. At times when the TV viewer does not wish to interact whileusing remote server 110, this communication device may preferably beused simply to convey TV broadcasts received at TV signals' receiver130. Such TV signals' receiver may be a TV antenna that receives TVbroadcasts over the air, a satellite/cable set-top box or a VCR/DVD andthe like. As will be appreciated by those skilled in the art thecommunication device 120 may either be connected serially to TV signals'receiver 130 or one may be comprised within the other. Either one ofthese configurations should be understood to be encompassed by thepresent invention.

The communication device is wirelessly connected to a remote server 110to allow reception of communications directed for the viewer of the TVset. The wireless connection is preferably made by utilizing existingmobile infrastructure. In the alternative, the connection may be donethrough landline infrastructure for example cables or phone line. Inorder to enable receiving of broadcasted TV signals at communicationdevice 120 through any one or more of the means discussed aboveantenna/set-top box/VCR/DVD etc., the communication device may haveaccording to the present example an analog inlet and/or a digital one.Upon receiving the broadcasts at the communication device 120, they aretransferred to TV set 140 and displayed at the screen of the TV set.However, at times when an integrated signal is to be displayed at thescreen of the TV set, the broadcasted signal is displayed together withanother communication signal, one that is transmitted towards the viewerof the TV set. The latter communication signal is also received atcommunication device 120 (e.g. via the wireless transceiver) and theintegration of the two signals could be done by any method known in theart per se, e.g. PIP (picture-in-picture), modulation, etc.

The non-broadcasted signals that are received from remote sever 110, mayoptionally comprise communications for enabling the provisioning of PCservices to the TV viewer. The term “PC services” as used herein refersto any service that a regular PC user can receive while using his/herown PC. For example: access to the Internet and to Internet basedapplications (e.g. instant messaging, e-mail, social networks, payingbills, banking, general information sites, government sites, etc.),office services such as writing documents, editing pictures etc.,community services like on-line schooling, filling surveys,participating in events, agriculture information and the like.

A non limiting example of an integrated signal being displayed at thescreen of the TV set is illustrated in FIG. 2, According to anembodiment of the present invention the TV viewer is able toconfigure/change the size and the location of the “personal” window(210) within the TV display (220) wherein the information received inthe communication signal for that specific viewer, is displayed. Inaddition, according to a preferred embodiment of the present inventionthe TV viewer has a shortcut key (or a combination of keys (e.g.Alt+Tab) at the user interface of the communication device enablinghim/her to switch from having a display of one signal e.g. TV broadcastat a certain channel at TV (220), to the other signal e.g. to enablehim/her to chat with a friend in the Internet (210).

Reverting now to FIG. 1, according to a preferred embodiment of thepresent invention, a user interface 150 is comprised in communicationdevice 120 to enable receiving the viewer inputs. The user interface ispreferably designed to allow communication between communication device120 and user input device 150. The user input device can be a keyboardpossibly with a built in mouse, a remote control, etc. and it ispreferably, but not necessarily, connected wirelessly to communicationdevice 120 e.g. by using Bluetooth technology, WiFi, IR or any otherapplicable wire or wireless technology. The TV viewer enters his/herinputs via the user interface 150, and these inputs are beingtransmitted to the remote server (110) via communication device (120).In response to the TV viewer input, the remote server (110) forwardscommunications towards the communication device (120) where they areintegrated with the signal being broadcasted at the same time on a TVchannel and the integrated signal is displayed at the screen of TV set(140), thus giving the TV viewer a full experience of a real PC, with orwithout the option to simultaneously view a TV broadcast. According toan embodiment of the present invention the communication device is alsoprovided with a USB port (not shown in the Figure), and the remoteserver (110) is adapted to remotely activate any USB device (e.g. amemory stick) connected to the communication device, in the same manneras a regular PC activates the USB device. By this embodiment, thecommunication device 120 is further adapted to receive signals from theUSB device and integrate them with the communications forwarded from theremote server.

As mentioned above, data connectivity in rural communities is proven toincrease the social and economical benefit, but many developingcountries do not have the appropriate infrastructure. This, taken inconjunction with the fact that for many households the cost of acomputer is too expensive, nay explain why the masses in these countriesremain disconnected from the rest of the developing world. The followingexample illustrates a potential immediate influence on the life qualityof a commoner in one of such rural communities. Let us take for examplea family in a small village in one of Africa's remote and isolatedregions, where there is no school in the nearby vicinity and no landlinephone. The family acquires the communication device of the presentinvention and connects it to a television set they purchased some 10years ago. Even though the television is old and the only broadcaststhat the family can watch is with their improvised antenna, the signalreceived from the antenna is conveyed via the communication device andcan be integrated with other communications in a manner described above.Once the communication box is operative, the family is connected to theremote server and it may start using some of options available: thechildren of the family may start attending classes in an on-line school,they may surf the Internet and communicate with friends and familyrelatives from other villages, they may receive information from thegovernment regarding new benefits of which they could not haveinformation prior to their connecting of the communication device, theycan do some of their banking activities instead of going to the bank atthe nearby city (which could be rather far away from their house), andabove all their motivation to learn increases as knowledge becamesomething accessible like it had never been before.

FIG. 3 demonstrates another possible implementation of an embodiment ofthe present invention. By this example, for the simplicity of thedescription, all the services attributed in the preceding examples to beprovided via the remote server, are provided in this example via thesame server that provides satellite television broadcasts, and will bereferred to in this example as the service provider server. In addition,the service provider set-top box comprises all the functionalitiesattributed in the previous examples to the communication device,although the service provider may also offer to old subscribers, acommunication device that connects to their set-top box in the same waydescribed above. In step 310, the system operates while the TV viewerwatches a soap opera on the television and at the same time has an openchat window with two of her friends. Suddenly the television broadcastis cut off (320). The TV viewer asks her friends, with whom she is stillin a chat session, if their broadcast has also been cut off. When she istold that they are still watching the program, she sends a message (330)through the communication device (by using her user input device, e.g. akeyboard) to the service provider server, enquiring why she is unable tocontinue watching the broadcast. In response she receives a failuremessage from the service provider server (340) that due to bad weatherconditions, the satellite broadcasts in her neighborhood has beendisrupted. This message is received from the service provider serveralong a path used for conveying communications to the user, such as thechat messages with her friends. Since this communication is exchangedbetween the TV user and the service provider along a path that isdifferent from the one used for broadcasting (i.e. via the satellite),for example a path that extends at least partially along a cellularnetwork, as this connection is not influenced by the satellitebroadcasting mishap. Upon sending the failure message, the serviceprovider server also sends to the TV viewer the broadcasting schedule(350) for TV programs that are available on the Internet, so when theuser chooses one of the programs, say the soap opera that wasinterrupted, the service provider server uploads the selected programand transmits it to the user's communication device and from there tothe TV set (360), through the cellular network. According to anotherembodiment of the present invention the service provider server iscapable of determining if the quality of the TV signal being broadcastedis too low, and upon determining that this is the case, to automaticallystart sending the requested program through the cellular network andtowards the communication device/enhanced set-top box.

By this embodiment, the use of the communication device enables the TVviewer to send messages towards the satellite service provider, andenables the TV viewer to receive uni-cast messages/video from thesatellite service provider at his/her TV set, that are transmitted evenalong at least partially different path, which may even comprise linksthat extend through other media such as a cellular network, a cablenetwork or a wire network.

As will be appreciated by those skilled in the art, the example aboveillustrates a certain way for implementing the present invention.However, similar examples may be devised when the remote server and thesatellite service provider are two separate entities.

Now, let us consider FIG. 4 which illustrates a block diagram of anembodiment of the method according to the present invention. The firststep (410) is transmitting an indication, a query or a command from auser device that is connected either by wire (e.g. by a cable connectedkeyboard) or wirelessly (e.g. a remote control) to the communicationdevice. The indication/command/query is then transmitted towards theremote server, indicating that the TV viewer wishes to receive a serviceas provided by the present invention (e.g. to receive Video on Demand(VOD) service), or wishes to pose a query to his/her TV provider. Next,the indication is received at the remote server (420). Preferably, thecommunication device maintains its connection with the first server foras long as the TV set is turned on, and whenever the TV viewer turns theTV on after having it turned off, the connection may be restoredautomatically.

The user of the TV set is then provided with a menu that is integratedby the communication device with the TV broadcast and displayed (e.g. ina small size window) onto the display of the TV screen (430). The menupresented, comprises a plurality of options enabling the provisioning ofPC services to the TV viewer. The menu is presented in a user friendlyway that allows the user eventually to choose which PC service he wouldlike to use (e.g. instant messaging, e-mail, social networks, payingbills, banking, general information sites, government sites, writingdocuments, editing pictures, on-line schooling, filling surveys,participating in events, agriculture information and more. Informationrelating to the option selected by the TV viewer reaches thecommunication device and is then transmitted therefrom towards the firstserver (step 440) that will be responsible for complying with the optionspecified by the user's selection in step 430. The method described inthis example may further optionally include an identifying step (425).Preferably, prior to sending the indication for the first time, the userhas registered as a user who is qualified to receive the serviceaccording to the present invention, and once registered—his/her personalinformation, identification details, personal PC settings etc. arestored in a database managed by the service provider (the identificationstep can be in any method that is known in the art per se). Once theuser has been identified, the system (i.e. either at the first server,or the user's own communication device or at another system managementserver) becomes aware of the access permissions to which the user isallowed and the memory space assigned to that user.

In addition, the operating system of the communication device may beprovided with one or more adds-on, such as certain graphical elements,e.g. animations, etc., but preferably not with client applicationsthemselves. The advantage of having such adds-on is to reduce the loadon the communication link extending between the communication device andthe remote server. By this embodiment, these elements are stored at amemory of the communication device itself as the capacity required forstoring such a graphical representation is typically about 5K whereasthe memory required to store for example a Java client application is128K. If indeed a library of graphical elements is stored at thecommunication device, then in response to the selection of the preferredoption made by the user, the virtual client entity will instruct theoperating system of the communication device, which image must be pulledfrom the memory and integrated with the broadcasted signal. In addition,if the process requires that icon(s) be incorporated, such icons mayalso be pulled from the communication device's graphical library (ifstored) or be transmitted to the communication device from the remoteserver, as the case may be. In the alternative, the graphical elementsmay be provided by the service provider upon a suitable request thatwould be initiated by the virtual client entity.

Let us now consider another embodiment of the invention, by which oncethe indication that is received at the remote server in step 420, avirtual managing client entity is generated (425) thereat. Thereafter,the virtual managing client entity is responsible for the management ofthe non-broadcasted exchange of communications with the TV viewer.Preferably, the communication device maintains its connection with thevirtual managing client entity for as long as the TV set is turned on.Whenever the TV viewer turns the TV on after having it turned off, theconnection may be restored automatically.

Upon generating the virtual managing client entity and associating itwith the communication device, the user of the TV set is provided with amenu as described above in step 430. Information relating to the optionselected by the TV viewer reaches the communication device and in thiscase is then transmitted towards the virtual managing client entitywhich initiates the generation of a virtual temporary client entity(step 445) that will be responsible for complying with the optionspecified by the user's selection in step 430. Since the virtualtemporary client entity is an ad hoc entity generated for that specificsession, once the session is terminated, the virtual temporary cliententity would cease to exist.

It is to be understood that the above description only includes someembodiments of the invention and serves for its illustration. Numerousother ways of carrying out the disclosure provided by the presentinvention may be devised by a person skilled in the art withoutdeparting from the scope of the invention, and are thus encompassed bythe present invention.

The invention claimed is:
 1. A method for providing a viewer of a TVdevice with a capability to display on said TV device one integrated TVsignal that comprises signals received from at least two differentsources, the method comprising the steps of: at a first server,receiving from a communication device associated with said TV device andlocated at the TV viewer premises an indication that indicates a requestto be provided with information, wherein said communication device isconfigured to communicate wirelessly with said first server; at thefirst server, retrieving information which relates to capabilities ofthe TV device to enable unicasting signals to the communication device,the signals comprising information requested by the viewer in a formatthat is compatible with the capabilities of the TV device to allowintegrating the information comprised in the unicasted signals with TVbroadcasted signals for displaying one integrated TV signal thereof onthe TV device; establishing a communication path between saidcommunication device and a source for said requested information viasaid first server; forwarding said requested information in a formatthat is compatible with the capabilities of the TV device towards saidcommunication device, integrating information comprised in the signalsunicasted from the first server to the communication device, withinformation comprised in signals broadcasted by a TV broadcaster, intoone TV signal; and forwarding the integrated TV signal directly to theTV device for display.